In The Hot Seat: David Griswold of Sustainable Harvest

Earlier this week we posted the story of Sustainable Harvest, a transparent specialty coffee importer who links coffee growers to roasters, and through training and management, has created a sustainable business. David Griswold, the CEO and founder, had a vision thirteen years ago for a company that would be a leader in sustainable trade and sourcing within the specialty coffee industry. Griswold developed the company's Relationship Coffee trade model, which serves nearly 200,000 farmers around the world today.

David takes a coffee break to tell Tonic about how he created a job that he loves.

What was your biggest fear?

When I started Sustainable Harvest in 1997, I wanted to change the nature of the coffee supply chain by connecting small-scale coffee farmers transparently and directly to their buyers in the United States and Europe. Traditionally, importers had not played that kind of role. I developed a business plan and asked a group of business school students to evaluate the plan and analyze its viability. They came back with a frightening prognosis: if I operated Sustainable Harvest with complete transparency at every stage in the supply chain, eventually my customers would skip over me and buy directly from the coffee farmers. They believed that complete transparency was a liability. I decided to move forward with the business anyway, but that experience left me with both a fear of being leapfrogged in the supply chain, as well as a determination to prove that transparency could be an asset for Sustainable Harvest.

Today, thirteen years later, I look at Sustainable Harvest and its successes and am proud that our company has offered our partners enough added value that we continue to play a central role in the supply chain, all while openly and clearly sharing information about every business transaction.

How are you improving your triple bottom line in CSR? Economic performance, environmental responsibility and positive social impact. Tell me about the new programs you are proud of.

I founded Sustainable Harvest with the mission to help improve farmers' livelihoods and establish a more sustainable trade system. So the nature of the company has always been oriented towards a triple bottom line approach — focusing on the economic, social and environmental impacts of our work. Our Relationship Coffee model is a bit different than CSR — we invest over 60 percent of our operating budget in farmer support and sustainable trade efforts, instead of the traditional CSR approach where companies contribute a percentage of their profit to community or social programs.

In the early years of Sustainable Harvest, I focused on good sourcing and trade practices as the most important aspect of the company's sustainability. As the company has matured and as a result of working with the community of B Corporations, I began to see how we could apply more sustainable practices internally at Sustainable Harvest, as well. I began to see how principles of Fair Trade, which have always been a part of our relationships with farmers, also applied to our own staff and operations.

Tell me a story about a life you have touched through Sustainable Harvest.

One of the relationships that I have cherished over the years is with Fatima Ismael. She is the general manager of the Soppexcca Cooperative in Jinotega, Nicaragua, and we met about a decade ago while I was visiting coffee cooperatives in Nicaragua. Fatima, an agronomist, had recently become the manager of Soppexcca, which at the time was deeply in debt as a result of mismanagement under the previous leadership. She was determined to bring the cooperative back to life and serve the farmers who relied on the cooperative to sell their coffee at a fair price.

Within the Soppexcca Cooperative, Fatima recognized that there were many women who grew outstanding quality coffee. During that first visit to Jinotega, she asked me to help her find a customer who would buy the women's coffee and tell their story. I was able to help Fatima bring Peet's Coffee and Tea on board as a new buyer for the women's coffee, which we branded under the name Las Hermanas ("the sisters"). Peet's has always been known as a roaster that only buys high quality beans, so their entry into this relationship with the women of Las Hermanas was a recognition of the high quality of the women's product. With Peet's as a consistent buyer and other roasters who began purchasing coffee from Soppexcca, Fatima was been able to lead the cooperative out of debt and toward a much stronger future. For Peet's, the Las Hermanas coffee has become a best seller and a beloved story among their customers.

Over the years, as the women gained recognition as excellent coffee producers and earned more income for their families, coffee has also become a platform for Fatima to address broader issues of gender equality. Sustainable Harvest has collaborated with Fatima to help her and the women of Las Hermanas access a network of other services focused on women, such as cervical cancer screenings and treatment in collaboration with the nonprofit organization Grounds for Health. Today, the women of Las Hermanas have served as a model for women coffee growers from Mexico to Peru.

Where do you see your company in five years?

In five years, I hope that Sustainable Harvest and its Relationship Coffee model has expanded to influence sourcing and trade in other commodities. I hope we are leading the path where other companies understand that it makes good business sense to have a transparent and sustainable supply chain and invest back in the communities where their products originate. I hope to see our work producing a fundamental reorganization of supply chain and commodities trade to a model focused on direct, transparent relationships and positive impacts for farmers or suppliers and buyers alike. I think we're well on our way.

What is the best advice you have ever gotten?

The best advice I received was during my first years as a small business owner and a coffee importer. I struggled with certain aspects of the business and became frustrated. A friend asked me, "Dave, how can you structure your business so you do more of what you love?" At first, I couldn't envision a way to do this, but over the years that question has guided me as I make strategic decisions about the future of Sustainable Harvest. I realize that I can focus on the things that bring me fulfillment and develop a business where I love working.

Read more Dollars & Sense.

Photos courtesy of Sustainable Harvest.